Availability falls as placements rise

Insight | REC | Decline | Jobs

The number of staff taking up new jobs rose strongly last month, but candidate availability fell at the same time.

According to the most recent Report on Jobs from KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), placements of permanent staff by recruitment consultancies continued to rise strongly, although the pace slowed slightly from the previous month.

At the same time, billings for temporary and contract staff also grew at a strong rate, picking up after slowing to a ten-month low in April.

Both were supported by a rising number of vacancies as more confident firms hope to meet growing demand. As a whole, demand for staff rose at a robust pace though slightly slower than in April, and permanent vacancies increased at a slightly quicker rate than temporary and contract opportunities.

But a consistent increase in placements amid accelerating demand has led to difficulties in finding the right talent for many roles. In fact, the availability of candidates plummeted last month.

The rate of decline was the strongest since November 1997 when it came to permanent roles, while temporary staff availability also continued to fall. Though it was marginally better than the 13-year record set in April, May represented yet another striking downward trend.

For job-hunters, this means that the right skills and expertise can lead to a wide range of promising opportunities - and there may well be the pay to match.

After April saw the sharpest salary inflation for 81 months for permanent workers, pay rose at only a slightly slower rate in May. Temporary and contract staff billings also rose, picking up from the ten-month low reported in the previous month.

“The UK’s jobs boom continues with vacancies increasing as employers look for new workers to meet increasing demand and to replace staff that have been snapped up by competitors,” says REC chief executive Kevin Green.

“The creation of these jobs, combined with the return of job fluidity, is creating a dynamic labour market. However the big issue remains that employers are finding it hard to find the talent and skills they need, yet Office for National Statistics figures show that we still have 2.2 million unemployed people in the UK.”